Where We Land
by gilbertpenis
Summary: AU/ When Jeremy Gilbert dies, he's confused and shocked to wake up in an unfamiliar place, with only a few familiar faces- the faces of the Original vampires. However, they're different. Human. After meeting Rebekah, Jeremy is surprised to find out how likable she once was, and even more surprised to learn why he was sent there.
1. Chapter 1

One of the greatest human mysteries is the afterlife. What happens when you die? Where do you go? Will your choices affect it? Will you just be worm food?

No one really expects what happened to Jeremy Gilbert to happen.

In his last moments, he was in a cave, being drained of his life by, as he would put it, 'some all powerful dick named Silas.' In agonising pain and with a brain full of thoughts of his family and what would now happen to his loved ones, it was safe to say his last moments were horrible.

As he felt a sharp pain in his neck, one that could be defined as clearly different to the rest of the pain, he saw a white light. A flash. Almost blinding with its brightness. And then it all went dark. He couldn't see anything and he didn't know what was going on.

"Do you think he's dead?"

"Shall we check?"

"Don't kick him, he might be alive!"

Jeremy heard several high voices, the voices of children. Slowly, he opened his eyes and looked up. He could see a blue, cloudless sky. The pain was gone and he felt peaceful. He glanced to his side and saw four children looking down at him curiously.

"Are you alright?" A small brown haired boy asked.

"Are you dead?" Another boy asked, his brow raised. Jeremy only then noticed their clothing. It was strange. It looked like something out of one of the history books in Ric's old class.

"W-where am I?" Jeremy asked as he slowly sat up. It was then that he realised there was a crowd of people around him, all dressed in similar ways to the children. His brows knotted as he managed to stand up. Looking around, he saw a crowd of unfamiliar and astonished faces. All but one.

"Rebekah?" He got up and began to make his way to her. Obviously, he wasn't a huge fan of her, but she was all he had right now. The blonde girl widened her eyes slightly as he said her name. How could he have possibly known her? As he reached her, he took her arm gently.

"What's going on?" The Gilbert questioned.

"I… I'm not sure what you're talking about," Rebekah said more quietly and slightly nervously. She'd never met this man before, and she knew Niklaus wasn't a fan of her talking to strange men.

"Rebekah, it's me. Jeremy?"

"I'm afraid I've no idea who you are."

"Jeremy Gilbert. Elena's little brother?"

"Who is Elena?"

"You… What's going on?" Jeremy asked. He couldn't understand what had happened. One minute he was in a cave in horrific pain, and now he was in a village where everyone dressed weird and where an Original vampire had no idea who he was.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not sure," Rebekah answered. She was rather confused by this herself. His clothes weren't helping her to be any less confused. They weren't like anything she'd seen before and his hair was very short. But, she felt some compassion for this man. He looked around the same age as her and it was clear he was extremely confused.

"Perhaps this is bold of me to ask, but, would you like to come to my home with me? I could make you something to drink and try to figure out what happened," she shrugged and smiled to him weakly. He knew she was an Original, but she seemed different. And he was the only person she knew of right now.

"Yeah, thanks," Jeremy nodded.

"I'm Rebekah, by the way," she smiled, before looking past him and shouting to one of the children.

"Henrik! Come on, we have to go home," she called to the brown haired boy that Jeremy had first seen. He ran over to them and looked up at Jeremy.

"Are you dead?" He asked, with genuine curiosity.

"I'm not really that sure," Jeremy replied. And he wasn't. He wasn't sure how he'd ended up here or what the hell had happened.

"Bekah, is he dead?" Henrik looked at Rebekah.

"I'm not quite sure either, but I doubt it," She spoke unsurely, before holding out her hand for Henrik. He took it and they began to walk with Jeremy.

"So, where do you live?" Jeremy asked.

"Our family reside in a small home not too far from here. We'll be there soon," Rebekah smiled to him, still holding Henrik's hand as they walked. The boy was looking down and counting pebbles in the ground, which slowed down their journey considerably, but the blonde didn't mind, and Jeremy knew he had no right to say anything about it. Jeremy nodded and soon they arrived outside of a small home.

The three entered and Henrik let of of Rebekah's hand and sat on some straw in the corner, taking a small doll made of straw and playing with it. Jeremy watched him, before looking at Rebekah. She stood by a large pot which hung over a fire. He walked over to her and looked inside. There was some meat in there, with a few different vegetables and and some herbs that Jeremy didn't know the names of. Rebekah got a small bowl and dipped it into the broth, filling it up. She spilled some of of the side so it wouldn't be too full, before handing the bowl to the man.

"Wow, thanks," Jeremy smiled to her, looking at the soup. It looked delicious, to say the least. He raised the bowl to his lips, but Rebekah gently lowered the bowl.

"Be careful, it's hot," she warned kindly. It was strange how all of her movements were so gentle, yet powerful at the same time. The way she'd touched the bowl had been so delicate, yet Jeremy allowed her to lower the bowl.

"Thanks," he said again and held the bowl, waiting for it to cool down.

"Don't worry, my brother always makes the same mistake and ends up cursing when he scalds his tongue," Rebekah spoke as she strolled over to the corner and began weaving some fabric. Again, her movements were very delicate and lady like.

"Which one?"

"Kol. He's an idiot, really," Rebekah commented, a small smile on her lips. From the way she spoke, it was clear Kol was still alive. As was this other brother, Henrik, one he'd never seen or heard of before. Jeremy nodded in agreement.

"So, how old are you?"

"16. I'll be 17 in a month. Henrik here's only 10, bless him," she spoke mockingly and laughed as Henrik chucked one of his toys at her.

"Yes, but I'm big and strong like 'Lijah and Nik!" Henrik protested, a pout on his lips.

"Of course you are…" Rebekah murmured, her voice heavy with sarcasm. Jeremy couldn't help but chuckle. Rebekah looked up at him and smirked proudly. She pursed her lips and spoke.

"It should be alright now," she shrugged. She noticed Jeremy looking at her lips, so she glanced back down at her weaving, trying to fight the urge to smirk once more.

"Huh?" He asked.

"The soup," she replied, without looking up at him. Jeremy nodded.

"Oh, yeah. Thanks again," he smiled, before sipping some. The soup was amazing, to say the least. It was possibly one of the best things he'd ever tasted.

"That's the third time now," she looked up at him once again.

"I'm pretty grateful," he nodded, a grin forming on his lips.

"As you should be," she shrugged.

"Like I said, I am," she looked at her, his eyes challenging.

"You two aren't going to kiss, are you?" Henrik asked, looking slightly disgusted. Rebekah and Jeremy both laughed at this.

"In his dreams, little brother," Rebekah said, her piercing blue orbs still on Jeremy's. It was then at Jeremy snapped out of this and realised that he was talking to Rebekah. She'd killed his sister. The sister who was back wherever they were... Had they found his body? Had they found Bonnie? He knew that Bonnie had been stabbed and he was very worried, she could be dead right now. The girl he loved could be dead. Rebekah noticed the change in his mood and furrowed her brows.

"Jeremy?" She questioned, putting down her work and standing up. She approached him slowly and put her hand on his arm softly, looking into his eyes.

"B-Bonnie..." Jeremy whispered. All he wanted to do was help her, he just wanted to go back to the cave and hold her and make sure she was okay. Rebekah was worried about him. She wasn't sure what he was talking about, but she was confused. They were so confused that they didn't notice someone entering the room.

"Rebekah, who's this?" A male voice said, causing both of the teenagers and Henrik to turn to it.


	2. Chapter 2

"Nik," Rebekah spoke, slightly nervous. He never was a fan of his baby sister spending time with men she didn't know. Jeremy's thoughts of Bonnie were still present, but now he was even more confused. He couldn't understand how any of this had happened. How he'd somehow gone back in time and met Klaus and Rebekah, two people he hated. And he liked this Rebekah. She was different to what he'd been told and to how he imagined. But this was a thousand years before Jeremy had even been born. She'd had a lot of time to change. Jeremy arched a brow as his eyes scanned over Klaus once. _Klaus? Seriously, this dude was Klaus? _Jeremy knew he was, obviously, they had the same face, but the hair and the outfit and... Everything about him seemed different. More gentle. Even the small things, like the way he stood, not shifting his weight, as if he wanted to appear more strong. The normal Klaus had no problem shifting all of his weight to one side. He didn't need to appear strong, he already knew he was. Klaus, or 'Nik', as Rebekah called him, raised his eyebrows.

"Well?" he asked.

"This is Jeremy. Henrik found him in the village and he can't remember how he got here, so I invited him back here so he could get some food and try to figure out what happened," the female Mikaelson explained.

"And they were about to kiss," Henrik added, a mischievous smile on his lips. Rebekah shot him a quick glare, before her eyes flicked back to Klaus's.

"We weren't, Henrik just seems to have a strange desire for it to happen."

"Well, he does take after Kol," Klaus smirked and nodded to Jeremy.

"Niklaus Mikaelson. Call me Nik."

"Hey... Nik," Jeremy said, the pause between the words caused by how freaked out he was. So, Klaus was being nice, and he was telling him to call him _Nik? _This really hadn't been on Jeremy's list of things to do after he died. Then again, not a lot was, apart from rotting in the ground and providing worms with a pretty good meal. He'd hoped it would be a pretty good meal, anyway. It would be a bit crap if he died and not even the worms wanted him. Catching himself thinking this, Jeremy snapped out of it.

"So, you haven't an idea of how you arrived here?" Klaus questioned.

"Nope," the Gilbert answered, shaking his head. Noticing the bowl of soup in Jeremy's hand, Klaus looked at Rebekah. She arched a brow and waited for him to speak.

"Yes?"

"You gave a man you hardly know soup and you provide none for your favourite brother?" Klaus asked, faking an offended tone.

"Oh, be quiet. You sound like Kol," Rebekah rolled her eyes and got him a bowl, handing it to him. She didn't warn him about how hot it was like she warned Jeremy, resulting in Klaus burning his tongue and glaring at Rebekah as she gave him a victorious smirk.

"Bekah," he said firmly.

"What? You said you wanted soup," she shrugged, her smirk still strong on her features. Jeremy couldn't help but grin and laugh. Rebekah smiled to him.

"Told you they were going to kiss," Henrik added again. Rebekah lifted up one of his toys and tossed it at him, before turning back to Jeremy and Klaus.

"You do realise Kol is going to be worse and he knows how to make educated insults, don't you?" Klaus asked, sipping some of the now drinkable soup.

"Yes, which is why I hope he stays at... What's her name again?" Rebekah asked.

"Ingrid," Klaus replied.

"I hope he stays with her doing... Well, whatever they're doing,"

"I think we all know what they're doing," Henrik smirked, snickering. Klaus grinned at his younger brother.

"Hush, Henrik. What would mother do if she heard you talk of such inappropriate matters?" Klaus teased.

"Tell dad..." Henrik said quietly. Jeremy raised his eyebrow, noting how the atmosphere in the room had completely changed. He heard Klaus sigh. He knew Klaus couldn't have meant for Henrik to say this, but he had and the Mikaelson siblings that were present had all gone silent, their gazes diverting to the floor. Rebekah played with her braid nervously, Klaus with his thumbs and Henrik did nothing at all.

"I'm sorry..." the boy whispered. "I-I didn't mean to..." Klaus sighed and walked over to him, sitting next to him and smiling to him weakly.

"It's alright, brother. We know you didn't," said Klaus softly. Jeremy was even more confused by this. Klaus being so affectionate and caring. Oh, how a thousand years could change someone. Jeremy felt someone take his hand. Glancing at his hand, he recognised the sky blue sleeve. His eyes followed the sleeve up to exactly where he expected it to leave, Rebekah's face. She must have known how out of place he felt right now, as she led him out of the home. She let go of his hand. They walked together silently for a while, until they reached a large field. They continued walking until Rebekah stopped and sat under a large white oak tree. Jeremy felt it was only sensible to do the same, so he did. He took a seat about two feet away from her.

"I suppose I'd better explain..." Rebekah murmured, looking down and playing with a small purple plant. Jeremy realised it was vervain.

"My father is... Difficult. Stubborn," the blonde sighed, still not looking at Jeremy.

"We don't have to talk about it, you know."

"I just thought you had a right to know after witnessing what happened in there.

"It's alright, honestly, Rebekah," he spoke kindly, offering her a small smile when she finally looked up at him. She returned this smile.

"Bekah," she said simply.

"Huh?"

"Call me Bekah," the Mikaelson's smile widened slightly.

"Okay," he paused, "it's alright, honestly, Bekah." A charming smile formed on his lips and she looked up into his eyes. A beautiful, genuine smile curved her lips upwards as she nodded once.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note: So, it's been a little while, but I've been busy with exams and stuff. This chapter is pretty short because I didn't feel adding the bit I had planned next would make the chapter flow correctly, so I'll make that the next chapter. Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter and... Yeah, enjoy :3**

* * *

The blonde laid back on the long, soft grass. A soft smile played on her full lips as she noticed how blue and cloudless the sky was. The sun was beaming, making the current situation seem even better. The current situation was she and Jeremy, sitting under the white oak tree. They'd been there for a few hours. They'd been talking about the smallest things. Jeremy had asked her about her life and what she would normally do for fun. Rebekah provided him with answers and at one point, picked a flower and put it in his hair, chortling as he batted it away. Rebekah continued to gaze up at the sky, feeling so free and so peaceful, when she felt a small object hit against her stomach. She sat up and saw Jeremy looking at her and holding a small stone. He lightly tossed it at her torso and she arched a brow.

"You looked way too peaceful like that," Jeremy spoke in explanation, smirking lightly. Rebekah quickly picked up a stone and tossed it in his direction, laughing as it hit him in the chest.

"Okay, that was cruel," the Gilbert said.

"You disrupted a perfectly peaceful moment," Rebekah shrugged.

"That was the point,"

"You should appreciate the small things. Like a clear sky. Or being able to lay down without an invalid tossing stones at you," Rebekah chuckled, before retrieving a few more stones and lightly chucking them at him. The truth was, Jeremy was appreciating things right now. As she'd been laying there, he couldn't help but allow his gaze to wonder over to her and linger there. She was gorgeous. It was no secret. He noticed how her eyes in the sunlight were a similar shade to the sky she seemed to appreciate so much. He was snapped out of these thoughts by the sound of Rebekah's voice.

"If you're so adamant on us talking, why don't you tell me how you came to be lying in the middle of a village, with no recollection of how you ended up there?"

"Because I have no idea how," he replied. It was true. He honestly didn't know how he'd ended up here or what the hell was going on.

"How is that possible?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," he answered, "I really have no idea how."

"Do you remember anything that happened before you woke up?" Jeremy did. He remembered being in the cave with Bonnie. He remembered her being hurt, and him begging Katherine to help him, only for her to bite him and feed his blood to some all powerful dick, who decided to snap his neck. He remembered the pain. There was only a small flash of a white light when he died. There were no pearly gates or singing angels. There was darkness. Cold, black darkness, and a painful ringing in his head. He wasn't sure how long it lasted for. It could have been days for all he knew. All he did know was how long and excruciating it was. How it seemed it would never end and he would be stuck there, forever, forced to stay in the darkness for all eternity. But then he heard those children talking and he opened his eyes, seeing he was in a completely unfamiliar place. Could he tell her all of this? He knew how insane it sounded. He knew she'd think he was some kind of psycho and take him to whatever sort of doctor they had back then. Jeremy looked up at Rebekah and sighed.

"I remember my whole life. And I remember how I went to an island and some guy killed me. I remember waking up here. What came between the last two? I have no idea," Jeremy spoke, shrugging slightly on the last syllable. It wasn't a careless shrug. How could he be careless about this? It seemed near impossible for someone to go through this without caring about how it was happening.

Rebekah looked at him curiously, her brows knotting lightly. She couldn't figure this out. She couldn't figure _him_ out. This was all so confusing to her. But she still wanted to help him. He seemed nice enough, just... Lost. Damaged.

"I'm trying to think of ways in which this could possibly happen, but... I'm afraid I can't," the Mikaelson sighed, frustrated at herself. It was then that she remembered. Her mother was a witch, was she not? Rebekah's face lit up. She quickly stood and held out her hand for Jeremy.

"What?"

"I have an idea," Rebekah announced, proud of herself. She grabbed his hand and pulled him up. She smiled to him.

"What idea?"

"We're going to figure out what happened to you."


End file.
